BOISE — It was a Cinderella story, as only the Idaho Legislature can tell it.

Following a bitter 2019 session that left the House and Senate barely on speaking terms, the 2020 legislative season offered a chance at redemption.

With several major problems to tackle — property tax relief, Medicaid expansion and education funding, infrastructure needs — it was an opportunity to repair rifts and establish a new model of cooperation.

It didn’t happen, though. The session ended, fittingly, on a split decision, with the Senate adjourning Thursday and the House reluctantly following suit on a 32-28 vote Friday.

By the time the 75-day session came to a close, lawmakers had failed to address almost every significant challenge facing the state. With a public health crisis looming, they called it a day. Like Cinderella scurrying home from the ball, the clock struck midnight and all their pre-session hopes turned back into pumpkins.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

The session began on a unified front — with “a low hum of kumbaya” wafting through the Statehouse corridors, as Gov. Brad Little noted in a Jan. 3 news conference.

“It’s always great to see the Legislature back in town,” Little said. “There’s always excitement at the beginning of the session, a low hum of kumbaya — which tends to fade out towards the end.”

During the same news conference, House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, cited “administrative rules, redistricting, the initiative process, property taxes, Medicaid funding, the education task force recommendation, transportation funding” as likely topics of conversation.

Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, said her wish list was for the Legislature to do a reality check.

“I’m pretty concerned,” Stennett said. “With Idaho being the fastest-growing state in the nation, we’ve done nothing to anticipate our future infrastructure needs.”

Much of the session, though, was spent on contentious social bills that did little to address the needs of average Idahoans.

Hours and hours of committee time and floor debate were devoted to a handful of measures dealing with transgender athletes, transgender medical procedures, abortion restrictions and prohibitions changing the sex designation on birth certificates.

The medical procedures bill was held in committee. The others all passed and await the governor’s signature.

Bedke said he and House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, come into a legislative session hoping to work on taxes and fiscal policy matters. Other caucus members, however, focus more on social issues.

“I think you saw an enormous amount of research and legwork done (on the social bills),” he said. “Most passed on near party line votes. These are issues that resonate with the majority party.”

Democrats were appalled — particularly since the Legislature chose to remain in session and work on the bills during a pandemic, contrary to COVID-19 “social distancing” recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Instead of focusing on services that impact every Idahoan, every day, the focus was on punitive bills that harmed our most vulnerable populations,” Stennett said.

House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, said the session “was marked largely by tone deafness and wasted time and opportunity.”

“Their (Republican) bills seemed largely targeted at making life as difficult as possible for minority and marginalized members of the community,” Rubel said. “There was remarkably little interest in addressing the very real problems we face.”

Perhaps most shockingly of all, the Legislature adjourned without taking any action on the state’s tax relief fund, which currently collects about $7 million in sales tax per month from online purchases.

That means upwards of $80 million specifically earmarked for tax relief will be collected — and just sit in the bank.

Even Republicans were embarrassed by that move.

“I’d say it was a wasted opportunity,” said Rep. Robert Anderst, R-Nampa, who will retire this year after four terms. “It almost makes me wish I’d retired two years ago. With the economic uncertainty (related to coronavirus), getting that money back in taxpayer hands seems like good policy.”

Anderst noted that behind-the-scene negotiations were taking place as late as Thursday morning, as House and Senate leaders tried to reach agreement on how to distribute the money.

As with multiple other issues, though, the two chambers remained at odds. The clock struck midnight, and lawmakers turned back into scullery maids for another year.

If they ever learn to dance together with bicameral, bipartisan bills, the 2021 session will be a real ball.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.